To Save a Friend
by Vithian
Summary: Kyrie makes a tough decision - and has to deal with the consequences.


**A/N: This was a bitch to write. It just didn't want to happen. But I persevered!  
The song is How to Save a Life by The Fray. Again, apologies for writing something focused on Kyrie.  
Warnings: Nothing really. Not even any strong language (I think, it's T anyway)  
**

* * *

_Step one you say we need to talk  
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk  
He smiles politely back at you  
You stare politely right on through  
_  
"Please Nero, just let me explain..."

He wouldn't listen, he didn't listen. He just shook his head and walked out the door, and, although I only got a glimpse of his face, it looked like he was crying.

My guilt increased tenfold. Nero didn't cry over just anything. I don't think I've ever even seen him cry before. Collapsing back on the pristine lounge, I tried to bury my head in my hands, trying not to cry myself.

I didn't deserve that kind of release.  
_  
Some sort of window to your right  
As he goes left and you stay right  
Between the lines of fear and blame  
You begin to wonder why you came  


* * *

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life  
_  
"They don't like me Kyrie..." The gangly seven year old fiddled with the strap of his sling, looking both sheepish and embarrassed. The arm was newly bandaged, giving off a faint blow glow. He wasn't used to it being immobile like this, I could tell. He just kept fiddling with some part of it; the sling, the bandage, the strap. But, it was for the best.

I just smiled, brushing an auburn strand of hair out of my eyes, and took his human hand, the constant moving distracting me. He blushed a little, but gave a shaky smile, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"I like you Nero. Just stay with me tomorrow and I'll introduce you to my friends."

"But, we're in different years." His voice shook slightly, his smile turning back into a frown, and he pulled away, cradling his hand to his chest. "And if they see you with me, they won't like you either."

"I don't care what they think Nero. You're my friend, and nothing anyone else says will change that." I hugged him, trying to avoid the still glowing arm that he possessed.

_Let him know that you know best  
Cause after all you do know best  
Try to slip past his defense  
Without granting innocence_  


* * *

_Lay down a list of what is wrong  
The things you've told him all along  
And pray to God he hears you  
And pray to God he hears you  
_  
"Nero, please, I'm supposed to be in class." I whispered to the tall boy opposite me, wanting to sound soft, yet harsh at the same time. I didn't want him to feel like I was pushing him away, but I didn't want to hurt him either, not when I was positive my entire class could hear us talking.

"But, Kyrie, I really need to talk to you." I heard the urgent tone, but I put it to the back of my mind, instead focusing on my classmates, most of which were trying to poke their heads out of the door without looking conspicuous. I could hear the whispers of my classmates, and the gossip would be all over the school by lunch.

_'Heh, Kyrie and Nero are in lo~ove!'_

_'I'm sure Kyrie's just using him.'_

_'Shhh! They'll hear you...'_

"Can it wait until we get home?"

_'Oh my God, they live together?'_

_'No, no, her parents adopted him.'_

"Please, I really need someone who won't judge me right now..." Can he not hear the people talking? How can it not bother him?

_'So it's incest then?'_

_'No, they can't be together. Kyrie would never sink so low.'_

"If I'm out here any longer, Miss will be angry. Please, just tell me about it when we get home, okay?" The crushed look on his face made me want to hug him, but I couldn't. It would be all over the school, and no one would talk to me. "Be strong for me, please?" Nero gave a hesitant nod, before turning around and shuffling down the hall, leaving me alone with the whispers.

_'Oh, I think they broke up.'_

_'Did you see his face? She destroyed him!'_

_'I didn't know Kyrie had such a dark side...'_

As soon as I turned to face the whispers they stopped, everyone appearing innocent. I slunk back into my seat, Miss instantly starting to talk about Fortuna's history again, and I furiously took notes, trying to ignore the whispers that started once again.  
_  
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life

* * *

As he begins to raise his voice  
You lower yours and grant him one last choice  
Drive until you lose the road  
Or break with the ones you've followed  
_  
"Nero, it's not working."

"What?" He had just finished patrol, I could still see some demon blood on his clothes. He looked exhausted, mentally and physically. The people in Fortuna hadn't changed; they were still scared of his devil-arm, yet they wanted him to save them. Not many would face the remaining demons head on, and they mostly relied on Nero to obliterate them. Always, he would do what he was told. I don't know why he felt indebted to the New Order, but he was more than a model citizen, even with his obnoxious persona still in play.

"This... Everything, it's not working." Saying it once was hard enough, saying it twice almost killed me. I don't think I can say it again. He looked up at me with confused eyes that just made the guilt so much worse.

"Kyrie, what are you saying _exactly_?" Nero stressed the word exactly. He wasn't accepting anything but the truth. His voice had dropped several octaves, and I swear his eyes flashed red for a second.

"I can't do this. I... It's..." I couldn't say it, so I just continued to fluster, staring at my hands so I didn't have to see the betrayal in his eyes.

"It's my arm, isn't it?" I opened my mouth, but no words came out, so Nero just continued talking. "You're the same as everyone else in this God damned city."

"Please Nero, just let me explain..."

He wouldn't listen, he didn't listen. He just shook his head and walked out the door, and, although I only got a glimpse of his face, it looked like he was crying.

My guilt increased tenfold. Nero didn't cry over just anything. I don't think I've ever seen him cry before. Collapsing back on the pristine lounge, I tried to bury my head in my hands, trying not to cry myself.

I didn't deserve that kind of release.  
_  
He will do one of two things  
He will admit to everything  
Or he'll say he's just not the same  
And you'll begin to wonder why you came_  


* * *

_Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life_

I didn't see Nero again after that night.

I worried for weeks, months. I asked the Order to send a search party, but every time I asked, I was told that it wasn't there job to find demons. After a year, I gave up on the idea of ever seeing Nero again. I knew he was still alive, there was nothing in the world that could stop him.

I ended up asking the people around the city myself. Whenever I would say his name, most people's eyes would light up with fury, as if he personally offended them or something. Every time, I felt the guilt eat away another piece of my heart. No one could recall seeing Nero, and I'd almost given up, until I remembered the one way off the island. It was my last resort, the one thing I didn't want to consider.

The ferry was run by an old man and his son, and although the old man denied ever having seen Nero, the son wasn't so sure. He told me that it could've been anyone, but a young man with a sling did board the ferry a couple of weeks ago. It was enough to tell me that Nero had left, and wasn't planning on coming back.

I wouldn't have felt so bad about what I said if there were other people concerned with Nero's absence, but no one else seemed to even notice. If anything, the general ambience of the city had increased; everyone seemed happier. It made me sick to my stomach.  
_  
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life  
How to save a life  
How to save a life_

* * *

_Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life  
_  
"Don't go too far away, alright?" I told the five year old holding my hand. The enthusiastic boy nodded, before running away to play with his friends. A world weary smile graced my lips before I entered the store. The lady at the counter greeted me, and I gave her a wave in return.

Ten years had passed since Nero's disappearance. After two years, I finally accepted that he wasn't coming back, no matter how much I watched the horizons. After four, I married and started a family. After seven, my singing career came to a halt; I only sung for special occasions now, wanting to focus more on my children.

I still thought about my adoptive brother/boyfriend from time to time. The constant guilt had vanished over time, and I knew that I had done the right thing. Leading him on was worse than breaking his heart.

Paying the lady, I carried my few bags back out to the street, trying to avoid the crowds. I didn't want to drop any of my purchases, nor was I fond of being crushed. A couple minutes of navigating through intense crowds and I found myself crushed up against the wall, desperately trying not to drop my bags.

"Pardon Miss, didn't see you there." A gruff voice called out, prying me away from wall. I thanked the man for his help, and turned to see what the disturbance was.

The crowds had all parted, everyone trying to cling to the walls as much as possible. Confused, I tried to see what was causing such an occurrence, but there was nothing-

"-don't see why we had to come this way." Wait, something was wrong here. I knew that voice, it was s familiar, but I just couldn't place it.

"'Cause you don't get to meet enough people! You need to get out more, kid." The other voice was unfamiliar, loud and confident. I craned my neck to see who was speaking, but there were too many people in the way for me to see.

"We're leaving tomorrow, doesn't matter who I meet. We could've left today, but someone's arthritis was playing up, and we missed the ferry."

"Maybe if someone could actually handle an itty-bitty Scarecrow, I wouldn't have to have saved their ass."

"Hey! You swore you wouldn't bring that up if I bought you a pizza!"

"Well, I don't see any pizza stores around here, do you?"

Finally, they came into view. The first one was wearing an awful amount of red leather, and was swinging a black gun around his finger, scaring the citizens he was passing. He didn't even give them a second glance.

The other wore a blue coat that was rolled up to the sleeves, showing off a brightly glowing devil arm that gave his white hair a blue-ish tinge.

Nero hadn't changed at all.

At some point, I must've dropped my bag, because its contents were spilled all over the pathway. The first male just kept walking, thankfully not on my recently purchased goods. Nero, however, stopped and starting picking everything up. He grabbed the bag, carefully placing everything inside, and handed it back to me.

"Here you go Miss. Nothing seems to be broken." I blinked a couple of times, just staring at the bag. Miss? Why did he call me Miss?

I almost fell over when I realised he didn't remember me.

Nero just held the bag out, waiting for me to take it. Hesitantly, I grabbed it, and he simply starting walking again, running to catch up to the other.

"Old man! Dante!"

That was the last I saw of them. I almost ran after him, almost went to apologise. But I couldn't. He had forgotten me, and if I dug up those memories, all I was doing was hurting him even more. Trying not to cry, I walked in the other direction.

_'_Good bye Nero. I'm sorry we all judged you so harshly. I'm sorry I drove you out of Fortuna. But, if you're happy, I'll never speak those words to alleviate me own guilt.

Enjoy life, Nero.'  
_  
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life  
How to save a life  


* * *

_

**A/N: Yeah, had to give it a bit of a happy ending. Sorry Kyrie is so out of character. And Nero. I hope I at least got Dante right... And sorry about the scenes from their youth. I couldn't help myself...**


End file.
